How to Become a Foreign Exchange Student in High School

Part of being a foreign exchange student is exploring your host country.

Part of the high school experience can be studying a foreign language and country in depth, and to further that experience some students choose to live in a foreign country by becoming a foreign exchange student. If you are a high school student and would like to become a foreign exchange student there are steps you can take to make your dream of living in a foreign country for a school year with a host family a reality.

Instructions

1. Study a foreign language and the country in which it is spoken during your high school years. Become familiar with that country and its customs and way of life. Read books, do research on the Internet, watch documentaries on the country, as well as read magazines and newspapers from there. Become somewhat familiar with the customs of the country whose language you have chosen to learn, and if you have a desire to live there and experience the culture first-hand, you can then start the process of becoming a foreign exchange student.

2. Consult a guidance counselor at your high school who specializes in foreign languages and exchange student programs. Your guidance counselor can supply you with information and websites on becoming a foreign exchange student. She can help you pick a school to attend in your chosen country, and can put you in touch with several host families with whom you will live for the school year.

3. Fill out an application. Your guidance counselor will put you in touch with an organization such as the Rotary Club or Youth for Understanding USA (YFU) that sponsors foreign exchange students and helps select students to be foreign exchange students. Inquire about cost and whether you may apply for a scholarship to cover expenses.

4. Before you leave for your foreign country, be sure you are completely familiar with its customs. Purchase maps and guide books as well as a foreign language dictionary to assist you upon your arrival there.

References

• Holidays Wanted: How to Become a Foreign Exchange Student
• Top 5 Newspapers: How to Become a Foreign Exchange Student
• Rotary International District: Youth Exchange